Indian players experienced rewarding outings, as qualifier Siddharth Suchdde and wild card Gaurav Nandrajog rallied brilliantly to enter the second round, on a dramatic day of upsets in the PSA Otters Open Squash Tournament 2006, at the Otters Club, Bandra on Thursday.
Suchdde, ranked 194 in the world, set the ball rolling when he shocked world No. 157 and eighth seed Ryan Thompson of Namibia 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-2.
In an exciting first round tie that lasted 50 minutes, the Indian lost a close opening game in which he struggled to find his rhythm. But he warmed up in the next while enduring a strong challenge from Thompson.
Though the Namibian made a special effort to snatch the third game, Suchdde remained unruffled before taking a crucial lead late in the game to go 2-1 up.
The advantage did much to enhance his confidence but to Suchdde's surprise Thompson's challenge fizzled out in the crucial fourth game as the Indian went on to fashion a famous win.
"I was apprehensive since I was playing my first PSA tournament this year. I got off to a bad start where I was defensive in the opening game. But I soon found my touch in the second game," explained Suchdde.
Gaurav Nandrajog, ranked 246 in the world, then demolished world No. 145 and seventh seed Friedrich Scheel of Germany 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 in just 30 minutes.
It was a rewarding day for the Malaysians, with world No. 169 Shahril Shahridan and world No. 109 Timothy Arnold joining compatriot Mohd. Adnan in the second round.
In a match that stretched to 62 minutes, Shahridan endured a tough opening game which took 24 minutes, before he clinched a shock 14-16 (3-5), 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 win over No. 6 seed Arthur Gaskin, of Ireland, who is ranked 142 in the world.
In contrast, Arnold crushed world No. 175 Aqeel Rehman of Austria 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 in just 32 minutes.
Harinder Pal Sandhu, ranked 239 in the world, was forced into yet another long battle before going down to the formidable Mohd. Adnan 10-11 (0-2), 6-11, 11-6, 6-11 in 75 minutes.
Sandhu, who came out of a 3-2 win over Vikram Malhotra in the finaly qualifying round, kept his hopes alive by clinching the third game after trailing 0-2. But Adnan, ranked 102 in the world, relied on his experience to take the crucial fourth game to cement his place in the second round.
Playing a brilliant game and enjoying good form, Caran Arora of the Cricket Club of India enjoyed a rewarding day in the Otters Open, which is being played concurrently, when he stormed into the boys' under-15 quarter-finals following a thrilling 10-8, 7-9, 9-2, 6-9, 9-6 victory over Ashaya Jain, who is a year older than Arora at 13.
"I kept a tight length and used good lobs to counter Ashaya," said Arora after the match. "I played some good volleys as well and I was very happy with my all-round game today. The win was all the more sweet since he was a stronger player."
Later, Arora capped the day with a convincing 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 win over Shobit Gupta in the boys' under-13 pre-quarter-finals.
Results:
PSA Otters Open (1st round): Siddharth Suchdde (India) bt Ryan Thomson (Nam) 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-2; Mohd. Adnan (Mas) bt Harinder Pal Sandhu (India) 11-10(2-0); 11-6, 6-11, 11-6; Shahril Shahridan (Mas) bt Arthur Gaskin (Irl) 14-16 (3-5), 11-7, 11-7, 11-7; Timothy Arnold (Mas) bt Aqeel Rehman (Aut) 11-6, 11-8, 11-3; Gaurav Nandrajog (India) bt Friedrich Scheel (Ger) 11-8, 11-3, 11-5.
Otters Open (Pre-quarter-finals) Boys' under-17: Cyril Kuhn (Chennai) bt Javed Mohd. 9-1, 9-0, 9-1; Aditya Jagtap bt Karm Kumar (Del) 9-0, 4-9, 9-2, 9-6; Parmjeet Singh bt Varun Prakash 9-7, 9-3, 9-6.Boys' under-15: Aadit Zaveri bt Samir Mistry 7-9, 9-2, 9-3, 9-0; Abhishek Pradhan bt Akash Borwankar 9-7, 9-7, 9-0; Ravi Dixit (Chennai) bt Nilin Singh 9-1, 9-0, 9-0; Caran Arora bt Ashaya Jain 10-8, 7-9, 9-2, 6-9, 9-6.
Boys' under-13: Akash Borwankar bt Naman J. 9-3, 9-1, 9-0; Karan Tharayamal bt Rahul Shah 9-0, 9-1, 9-0; Deepak Mishra bt Shashi Pandey 9-2, 9-1, 9-2; Caran Arora bt Shobit Gupta 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Abhishek Pradhan bt Kunj Rawani 9-0, 9-0, 9-2; Kush Kumar bt Ishaan Advani 9-3, 9-1, 9-3.Boys' under-11: Kunj Rawani bt Ravinder Dhote 9-0, 9-0, 9-1; Akhilesh Yadav bt Arjun Kochar 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Kush Kumar bt Aditya Singhi 9-1, 9-1, 9-1; Devchand Rai bt Sumer Rao 9-0, 9-5, 9-0; Yohan Pandole bt Anushul Goyal 9-1, 9-0, 9-2; Armaan Kothari bt Mohit Yadav 9-3, 9-0, 9-3.
Women's 1st round: Avani Shetty bt Kayan Motshaw 9-0, 9-1, 9-2; Madhura Paranjpe bt A. Shetty 9-2, 9-2, 9-5; Surbhi Misra bt S. Swarnalatta 9-0, 9-3, 9-4; Alisha Mashruwala bt Swati Muchhal 9-4, 9-1, 9-3; Dheeya Somaiya bt Sunita Patwa 9-0, 9-2, 9-2; Shivangi Paranjpe bt Kiran Mirpin 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.
Girls' under-17: S. Swarnalatta bt Anisha Malhotra 9-0, 9-2, 9-2; Anju Sharma bt Surbhi Kuwelkar 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Yashna Shetty bt Avanti Adivarekar 9-2, 9-3, 9-0; Sunita Patwa bt Bahar Dhawan 9-5, 9-5, 9-1.
Girls' under-13: Ankita Sharma bt Bahar Dhawan 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Sachika Balwani bt Anju Sharma 9-1, 9-5, 9-1; Saumya Karki bt Jui Kalgutkar 9-0, 9-0, 9-1; Namrata Purohit bt Anica C. 9-0, 9-0, 9-0; Rohan Vora bt Rahil Fazelbhoy 9-7, 9-0, 9-2.
